This times 1,000.
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You rewarded him
For resource guarding by throwing biscuits. I know you didn’t have many options but he doesn’t see it that way.
I have rescued dogs for years , up into mid 4 figures. Sometimes you cannot save them from themselves. Not only is he a liability, he is dangerous. You do not need to be a statistic.
The best thing you can do for both of you is to give him a peaceful end at the end of a needle.
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It doesn’t matter that “he is only 3 1/2 and has a long life ahead of him”. He doesn’t know that, so won’t be missing anything.
I had to put down a 4 year old when OCD and aggression started taking over. It started when she attacked me for trying to remove a tick. Anytime after that, if I concentrated attention anywhere on her body, she’d start snarling and trying to bite. Tried Prozac for several weeks (takes time to kick in), but nothing changed. Things came to a head when she attacked another of my dogs. I couldn’t in good conscience re-home her, due to the aggression. It pretty much cemented that I was doing the right thing when she tried to bite the vet when he was inserting the catheter.
An aggressive dog is a liability, and it sounds like neither of you are very happy. You both need some peace.
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I know someone who breeds (a breed) and her dogs are known for their great temperaments. She had a pup come out like this. Happy and loving until he blew up, randomly. It was a very bad labor, the vet wouldn’t do a c-section until way past my friend thought it was imperative, and all the pups were born dead except this one, which she kept. She was convinced he’d been oxygen deprived at birth and it did something to his wiring. Her husband was a ER doc and he was stitching up himself and their children all the time. My friend was the only one he never attacked.
She put him down. Grieved a long time over but did not regret it.
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Yes, so often I see people rewarding dogs for bad or dangerous behavior. They don’t understand, or it seemed like a good idea at the time, or they just give up after a wimpy “no.”
People just don’t understand.
OP, it is dangerous to you and your home, animals and visitors, plus being a liability. You’re not failing; you’ve really TRIED. The dog is unsuited to living in a household.
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You’ve given him several chances and it is not going to get better. Unless you can perfectly manage him for the rest of his life, he’s going to have more incidents. You also have to consider what would happen if something happens to you… who would you be able to safely leave him with if you were hospitalized or something?
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As others have said, please consider letting her pass over the bridge.
I owned a similar dog. I bought her as a pup - and was never able to bring her anywhere. At puppy class she wanted to eat the half-grown Akita. If she had a prize of any sort - stolen trash, or if she had her nose down an animal hole in my 3AC wood… she would guard it and would bite me if she had the chance.
I tried everything (CBD didnt really exist back then).
She was mostly fine around people, but even if on leash I had to stay away from other dogs.
And I am an experienced dog owner who had owned this breed on and off since the 1980’s.
She has passed away. Now I recognize that I should have put her down, much as I loved her. She was a real liability.
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I had a Border collie that I LOVED. He was a rescue that I got at TSC. They were giving away dogs…He was good dog and a vigorous tease, so he would get Toffee to chase him around the yard. But he was an escape artist. No fence could hold him. I had to tie him up outside and then he would slip his collar. He was always very interested in the cats. It made me nervous but he didn’t seem to want to attack or hurt them. But one day, I came home and he had killed a cat. Fortunately, it was one I had just gotten so we weren’t bonded yet. But still a dead cat. I have seen the Yearling. I thought like Jody, if I build the fences higher, Keep a tighter grip on him etc etc, he would be ok… Well he wasn’t. I left him out, tied up, and he slipped his collar and ran. One of my neighbors saw him and brought him back, and she knew my back door was unlocked, so she let him in. I came home shortly after that… and there was another dead cat. Another newbie. A beautiful Siamese whose owner couldn’t keep him anymore. My vet gave him to me. I cried my eyes out and had him pts. He was then confirmed as a cat killer and I would never let him go to another home where who knows what would have happened.
You know what to do. You must do it.
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This dog has punched all of his tickets. Don’t feel guilty about euthanasia. He is going to hurt you or someone else very, very badly. He’s an animated version of a cocked and loaded 9mm with no safety. That’s not ok.
There is only one solution that is failsafe.
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It’s rare that everyone on a COTH thread is in agreement, but I will join in: it’s past time to put him to sleep.
I know you feel guilty. Don’t, and do NOT let your vet’s office make you feel guilty, either! They shouldn’t need video proof of his episodes of rage. They should take your word for it. He may have a brain tumor. He may have a screw loose. He may just be acting out from his days as a stray. Either way, I don’t know that any of it is fixable, because you seem to have done everything you can.
And if you are still on the fence - how are you going to feel if one day, God forbid, the gates fail and he attacks your older dog, or your cat?
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@GottaLuvIt I am so sorry you are dealing with this. I adopted a hound from a shelter and went through a similar experience. He was terrified of gunfire and fireworks and would not go near a place he heard them. Our world got very small and a young hound without exercise is not a good thing.
I worked with a trainer and he went after her. She looked at all the children in my neighborhood and told me it could be so much worse if he got one of them. I had an appointment with an animal behaviorist and for some lab work, since some hounds have a “sudden rage” issue I thought maybe we could “treat” it if it were a hormone deficiency.
One night after the neighbors shot off fireworks, the dog panicked and ran into my bedroom. I tried to go into the room and he threatened me (lunging, growling, snarling). An hour later, I tried to walk by the room, and he came at me again. (He reminded me of a wolf in hound’s clothing. His eyes rolled back in his head and he snarled, I’ve never seen a dog do that and it was terrifying.) About another hour later, he was his sweet self, and came down to the basement to get me to go to bed for the night. It was his last night. The next morning I had him euthanized. He was not going to get better.
It is a horrible feeling and I sometimes feel sad since he was such a beautiful dog, but he had so many issues and I realized that his sudden rage was really not sudden. He’d been showing it to me in slow increments over time. I just kept making excuses and thought we could “fix” it.
Anyone I’ve spoken to who has done rescue for a long time has experienced at least one that can’t be helped. In the time and effort you are spending with this one, you could probably save 3 or 4 who can be saved. I made myself physically ill stressing over my dog (really, I lost about 25 pounds in the span of three months). I was happily dogless for about 8 months afterwards I had been so traumatized. When I did get a new dog, she was a bit of a hot mess (sweet, neurotic, but had little interaction with people), but she was everything I needed at the time.
Good luck. The right decision isn’t always the easy one.
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Thank you, @Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom. I was trying to type those same thoughts earlier and couldn’t get it out right, both about the vet and possible brain tumor or other health issue. He somewhat reminds me of a BEAUTIFUL GSD my mom had that had weird aggression issues: turns out he developed epilepsy as he grew and it could not be managed. I think his earlier aggression was his pre-seizures epilepsy looking for a way out.
Again, OP, he doesn’t know there “should” be a tomorrow. He just knows now, and something about his now isn’t right. I agree you have done all you can and it is time to let him go. It may be relief from some inner demon you may never know about. I’m so sorry you have to do this.
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I say this gently, but read this sentence:
Consider what you would tell a friend, who’s relaying this story to you.
This dog is going to hurt you, very badly. If you hand him off to someone else, he’s likely to hurt them, too.
Sometimes animals are brought into our lives so we can end their suffering. Death can be an incredible kindness. This dog is dangerous. He’s also massively stressed to be acting like this. Ending his life is the right choice here. I’m very sorry your small animal vet can’t see that, but call up your equine person and schedule it.
You haven’t failed this dog. His problems were just too severe. But you will fail him if you give him the space to hurt someone, so make sure that can’t happen.
I’m very sorry, I know these are the hardest things. But this isn’t even a choice. There’s one right answer here, and you just need to make the call.
Please be careful until the vet is there 
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OP I have lived this. Somewhere on this forum I talked about a dog we owned named Dallas. You may be able to search it. All I can say is, having lived it, I regret we did not euthanize sooner. With these cases it is not an “if they hurt someone”, it’s a “when” — I deeply regret how many chances we gave this dog. He was the best dog he could be, and it was not his fault, but there was nothing that could help him and the peace that immediately settled over the house when he was gone made me realize we had been living on eggshells for so long it became a miserable norm.
Another thing to consider is in these cases these dogs are rarely happy either. They feel the tension and the upset. The kindest thing to do is give them their favorite meal at the end, and let them go before they kill you or someone or something you love.
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This. Read it again and again. And give yourself a hug.
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This was so true of our epileptic dog. I honestly felt he tried to be a good dog, but the cylinders of his brain just didn’t fire correctly.
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Thank you all for responding. I actually had to give myself a break. I totally understand everything that has been said.
- I would NEVER surrender him to a pound/rescue. I care way too much about him. Edited to add that if I put him back into circulation he would end up hurting someone or being severely abused. That is what I meant by I “care way too much about him.” I think I have confirmation of what is needed. My heart bleeds!
I understand that he can’t survive except in a unique environment. He is VERY friendly and when he is laying next to me I can trace his teeth with my finger. He has been such a good dog at the vets office. He is friendly with his canine sister and feline little sister that is only 5 pounds.
I is just when he gets into his zone and I don’t know what will set him off and cause him to go into his zone. This isn’t knowing that the dog is hurting and needs to be put out of his misery. He is young and cute and friendly to others. He just can’t be trusted. We had an incident in 2021 where I unwisely tried to reach for the object and he did take my arm. I was terrified - he grabbed on with such force that I just froze and tried not to move and tried to think of how I could shield my face. He eventually let go. I know this isn’t going to work.
He is obedient - responding to commands to sit and stay and wait. I’m not sure how I can find someone in the veterinary field that can help me. Except for my equine vet - there are no other vets that believe what is happening. I thought that when the worker was a witness that would be the proof I needed but not so.
Thanks again for all of the thoughtful and kind responses.
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At the end of the day, it’s not up to the vet; it’s up to you. And if your equine vet is willing to put him down, is there a reason why they can’t?
But if you think you need proof - can you set up some webcams in the house? That way, the next time he ‘goes off,’ it will hopefully be recorded and you can show it to your vet as proof of his rages.
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I was going to suggest a camera triggered by motion like blink camera. I 100% support Euthanasia and don’t think you need proof I’m mad at your vet for you.
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Are you able to see a different vet? Can you book a consult with a veterinary behaviorist?
A friend has similar issues, and her dog ended up on a combination Rx (Prozac is part of it, but specifically the canine version Reconcile for an absorption related reason). She was also recommended this book.
That said, you’ve already put three years of trying in and still have an unpredictable dog. There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying goodbye before things get ugly.
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